After a gap of over two years the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees will reportedly be holding a Samast Anjuman meeting in November 12, 2011. A tentative date of November 4 had been fixed but since the new Solicitor General for India Rohinton Nariman is to be in Bombay on that day, the BPP intends to hold a felicitation ceremony for him then.
One of the tentative venues for the Samast Anjuman meet is the Dadar Parsee Colony Gymkhana (DPCG) where the earlier talk was held on October 25, 2009. That meet proved disastrous following restrictions on the use of the microphone due to procedural tangles, as a result of which BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta and trustee Khojeste Mistree vented their spleen against their critics accusing them of sabotaging the meet attended by a crowd of around 3,000. One of the reasons for the large attendance was a sumptuous dinner paid for by the trustees. The promised annual meet is an occasion for the trustees to give an account of their activities during the prior 12 months.
Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman
The DPCG grounds are also involved in a legal tussle over the use of the plot for social functions and marriages. Jyotibhaskar Salgaonkar who lives adjacent to the DPCG has lodged a complaint claiming the functions "cause nuisance to people residing in the vicinity,” states The Times of India (TOI) of September 20, 2011. Accordingly, on May 2, 2011 the Lokayukta passed an order stating the grounds could only be used for sports, notes TOI. The DPCG petitioned a division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justices P. B. Majumdar and R. M. Sawant stating that functions are "the main source of income for the DPCG and the membership fees can be subsidized because of this income,” reports TOI. The DPCG council Firoz Bharucha argued that the Lokayukta has no power or jurisdiction to pass such orders and that the directions were passed without hearing the DPCG, mentions the newspaper.
On September 19 the judges stayed the order and set the next hearing date for October 17, 2011.
The Parsi Gymkhana grounds on Marine Drive is another possible venue.